FOCUS GROUP

DISCUSSION
FOCUS GROUPS

• Used in Psychology
relatively recently
• Collects information about
people’s opinions, beliefs,
attitudes, perceptions,
behaviours, motivations etc.
• Not done to come to a
consensus or make
decisions
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS
• Focus Group Discussion (FGD) involves gathering
people from similar backgrounds or experiences
together to discuss a specific topic of interest.
• It is a form of qualitative research where questions
are asked about their perceptions attitudes, beliefs,
opinion or ideas.
Participants are free to talk with
other group members. FGD
encourages discussions with other
participants.

FGD generally involves group

interviewing in which a small group
of usually 8 to 12 people are
involved.

It is led by a moderator
(interviewer) in a loosely structured
discussion of various topics of
interest and includes a note taker.
• An FGD should be between 60 and
90 minutes. If the FGD is shorter than
60 minutes, it is often difficult to fully
explore the discussion topic and if it
is longer than 90 minutes, the
discussion can become
unproductive.
• FGD provides an opportunity for
researchers to listen to local voices
emphasizing on paying attention to
the needs of those who have little
or no societal voice.
Why to use Focus Groups?

Aslam Aman 6
 It enables in-depth discussions and involves a
relatively small number of people.

It is focused on a specific area of interest that

FEATURES OF FGD allows participants to discuss the topic in greater
detail.

Interaction is a unique feature of the focus group

interview. Indeed, this characteristic distinguishes
the method from the individual in-depth interview.
It is based on the idea that group processes assist
people to explore and clarify their points of view.
 Moderator introduces the topic and assists
the participants to discuss it by encouraging
interaction and guiding the conversation. The
moderator plays a major role in obtaining
good and accurate information from the
focus groups.
FEATURES OF FGD
The participants usually have shared social
and cultural experiences (such as age, social
class, gender, ethnicity, religion and
educational background) or shared
particular areas of concern (such as divorce,
marriage, motherhood, childbirth, mental
health, or living with HIV/AIDS).
 Facilitate interaction between members; Direct questions by
researcher are kept to a minimum

Ground rules and limits communicated by the facilitator

Focus group is natural & conversational. May include story telling,

joking, arguing, boasting, teasing, persuasion, challenge,
FEATURES OF FGD disagreement...

Quality data is obtained when the focus group is a rewarding

experience for the participants

Sessions are recorded and transcribed

Notes and observations taken separately

General Features

• Can be done as one-off event or as

multiple sessions with same or
different participants
• Somewhere between 4 to 8
participants
• Video clips, films, group tasks etc.
can be used to trigger the FGD
process
 Not useful to compare individuals or to
measure attitudes

Voluminous, unstructured data; not

amenable to summarization or
quantification
General
Features Analysis should try to preserve the
actual words and expressions of
participants

Generalization is not the aim,

understanding is
Important Elements

Participants Environment Moderator

Analysis and
Platform
Reporting
Will people speak
openly?
• Focus Group Discussions do
facilitate disclosures and discussions
than personal interviews
(Amoakohene, 2004)
• The key lies in the way the
discussion is steered by the
moderator/facilitator
• Even provocative questions can be
asked in a constructive manner
• A schedule is needed to act as a
backbone
Do’s

Start with open questions.

The first question should be general to get people

warmed up, say about participants’ views about the
topic.

If you hear of something you haven’t heard of before, ask

the person to tell you more about it.

If someone gives a general answer, ask them to specify

(give an example).

If someone shares an opinion, check with others in the

group whether they share the view.
Do’s (Contd....)

At the beginning, explain you will be confidential and

assure them that the information they provide will not
Explain be misused. If there will be a report, explain who it will
go to and how it will be used.

Go Go around the room and get each person to answer

around your first question, to draw everyone in.

Keep praising and thanking people for their

Keep contribution. Make them feel their contribution is
welcome and worthwhile.
 Be sympathetic about the issues they raise,
Be even if you think some are using the focus
group as a bit of a whine session.

DO’S Ask Regularly ask questions of specific people,

to draw people in.

Feel free to change the order of the

Feel questions if someone brings up something
that relates to a later question.
 Do not ask leading questions (ones that might suggest
you are looking for a particular answer).

Do not ask ‘yes or no’ questions, as this does not open

up discussion, though if you inadvertently do, you can
follow up with ‘why’?

DON’T Do not ask double-barrelled questions. People cannot

answer two questions at once.

Do not tell people they are wrong. Do not correct

them.

Do not express any point of view.

 Generally, try not to shut people down. Welcome their
Try contribution whatever it is.

Say Never say, “We’ll be talking about that later, not now.”

DON’T Do not
pressurize
If someone seems really shy, do not pressurize them to
speak.

Do not be embarrassed if you don’t understand something.

Do not be Go ahead and ask for an explanation. Your mission is to
explain the unknown, the unclear and the ambiguous.

Gossip
Never gossip about the focus groups after the study.
about
 The researcher needs to be flexible and free of
biases and prejudices.

Skills required A good understanding of the subject,

to conduct problem, or topic to be investigated is
required. This includes both theoretical
FGD knowledge and practical experience.

Proficiency in the language in which

discussions will be conducted is required.
Focus group discussion cannot be conducted
through an interpreter or by third person, no
matter what types of skills he/she has.
Skills required to conduct FGD

It is important to know how to manage the interview so that one or two

people do not dominate it, and so that those participants who tend
not to be highly verbal are able to share their views.

Training or experience in conducting group discussion is very important

because an unskilled moderator can unknowingly inhibit the free flow
of discussion and draw unjustifiable conclusions and findings.
Choosing Participants

Gender: Will men and women feel comfortable discussing this topic in a
mixed-gender group? For example, women might feel uncomfortable
discussing reproductive health issues if men are in the group.

Age: Will age affect the way that people react to this topic? For example, a
young person might feel uncomfortable talking about his drinking habits if
older people from his community are in the room.

Hierarchy: Will people of different hierarchical positions be able to discuss

this topic equally? For example, a student might feel uncomfortable
discussing her teachers if the school principal is in the FGD.
 Steps in FGD
Decide whether focus groups are appropriate

Decide whom to involve: Identify the type of respondents

required as per study

Select moderator and field teams

Develop facilitators guide and format for recording

responses

Train field team and pre-test instruments

Conduct FGD in suitable and comfortable environment

Listen to your target audience and take notes

Aslam Aman
Transcribe, analyse and interpret responses 17
Before conducting FGD

Set up venue (quiet

environment) and Recruit the
Prepare resources.
equipment in participants for FGD.
advance.

Prepare for
Assemble recording
introduction and Plan to arrive early.
equipment.
questions.

Arrange the room.

During FGD

WELCOME THE GROUP. DISTRIBUTE NAME INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW OF THE INFORMED CONSENT
CARDS. PURPOSE AND FORMAT
OF THE FGD

EXPLAIN RECORDING SET GROUND RULES ENSURE

METHODS. AND NORMS PROPER/COMFORTABL
E SEATING
ARRANGEMENT.
Ground Rules (Sample)

ONLY ONE PERSON SPEAKS AT GIVE EVERYONE AN EQUAL RESPECT THE OPINIONS OF RESPECT THE PRIVACY OF
A TIME. CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN OTHERS; DON’T PUT DOWN OR OTHERS IN THE GROUP BY NOT
THE DISCUSSION. CRITICIZE OTHERS’ REPEATING WHAT IS
COMMENTS. DISCUSSED OUTSIDE OF THE
FOCUS GROUP.
Closure

DISCUSSION IS ANY REMAINING PARTICIPANTS ARE ALL FORMS AND NOTES NOTES ARE EXPANDED AS
SUMMARIZED BY THE QUESTIONS FROM THANKED AND NEXT STEPS ARE GATHERED BEFORE SOON AS POSSIBLE
FACILITATOR OR NOTE PARTICIPANTS ARE ARE INDICATED (DATA CLEARING THE ROOM. (WITHIN 24 HRS IF
KEEPER, AND ANSWERED. ANALYSIS, REPORTING). REQUIRED MATERIALS ARE APPLICABLE).
PARTICIPANTS CLARIFY KEPT SAFELY INSIDE AN
AND CONFIRM THE ENVELOPE AFTER PROPER
INFORMATION. LABELING.
 Decide the Research Question

Assess the available time

Number of groups
Designing the FGD Where to find participants from?

Location of the FGD

Recording/ Transcription procedure

What other resources are needed/available?

 Informed consent (in
writing/recording)

Ethical Ethical approval (If a system

Considerations is available)

No Psychological or
Physical harm
Setting the Right to Withdraw

ground rules Confidentiality and

Privacy
Debriefing
 Are incentives
Last-day offered?
reminders are a
must

Getting the
Participants Gaining prior
Issue reminders
informed
and directions
consent

Beware of
dropouts – arrange
50% more
participants as
stand-by
 Interviewing Skills
o Rapport building
o Prompts and Probes
o Sensitivity to Non-verbal cues
Knowledge of Group Dynamics

Moderator Experience in working with groups

Skills
Motivate shy participants and moderate dominant

Spot signs of discomfort and respond promptly

 Welcomes
Assist with
participants as they
equipment/platform
arrive

Take notes
Do not participate in
Assistant throughout the
discussion
the discussion

Moderator
Skills Ask questions when
invited
Give an oral
summary

Debrief with Give feedback on

moderator analysis and reports
 Start while still in the group

Immediately after the focus group

Systematic Soon after the focus group--within hours

Analysis Process analyze individual focus group

Later--within days analyze the series of focus

groups

Finally, prepare the report

 When analyzing focus group data, consider…

Words

Context

Focus Group Internal consistency

Analysis Tips Frequency or extensiveness of comments

Intensity of the comments

Specificity of responses

Find the big ideas

 Easy to setup

Fast
Advantages
Free and open discussion among the
respondents results in generation of new ideas
that can be very useful for decision- making.

Expressions other than those in verbal form

such as gestures and stimulated activities can
provide researcher with useful insights.
 Detailed information about personal and group feelings,
perceptions and opinions can be obtained.

A focus group is not static and very flexible. The moderator

can bring any changes in order to better facilitate the
discussion during the group discussion allowing better results
Advantages in terms of information derived by a focus group.
(Contd....)
Captures real life data in a social environment

Researcher can increase sample size for qualitative research.

 Some research topics are unsuitable for focus
group environments. For example, topics which
are seen as too personal (such as living with
HIV/AIDS, sexuality, infertility, financial status,
divorce, domestic violence) may be better
carried out by other methods such as individual
interviews.
Limitations
In institutional contexts (such as the workplace
or schools), people may be reluctant to express
their opinions or discuss their personal
experiences in front of colleagues. If the
objective of the research is to generate in-
depth personal narratives such as the
experience of infertility or illness, focus groups
may not be appropriate.
 Focus groups are also criticized for only offering
a shallower understanding of an issue than
those obtained from individual interviews

LIMITATIONS
In some focus groups, due to the presence of
some group members, the participants may
feel too intimidate to speak. In other situations,
they may simply conform to the dominant
ideas present in the group. As such, the quality
of data generated will be affected by the
characteristics and context of the focus groups.
 Focus groups can vary (talkative, quiet, dull, dominating)
and may deviate from actual topic.

Respondents may be reluctant to share some sensitive

ideas and concerns publicly.
LIMITATIONS
Due to small sample size and heterogeneity of individuals,
the findings may not be adequate to make projections or
the composite picture of the situation or to generalize.

An FGD can be a very artificial set-up that influences the

respondents to express and act unnaturally.
 • Difficulty in assembling groups
• Capturing major issues can be difficult.
• There will be increase in time and cost
if in case more than one language is
used.
LIMITATIONS • There is difficulty in information
management and review, particularly
if tape recorders are used.
• Difficulty in analyzing data